Jacki and Chuck Dostal are giving thanks for their first child this holiday season

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Updated: 6:00 AM CST Nov 30, 2019

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PLATTSMOUTH VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT. >> THIS DODGE COUNTY COUPLE CELEBRATES A MIRACLE. A TRAUMATIC ACCIDENT LEADS TO A SEDAN SEDAN HAS THE STORY NEW AT 10:00. >> FOR EIGHT YEARS, THEY TRIED DESPERATELY TO GROW THEIR FAMILY, STREANTLY ENDING UP HOSPITAL. >> I MET JACKIE AND CHUCK A LITTLE OVER FIVE YEARS AGO. >> WE TRIED A COUPLE OF ROUNDS OF I.U.I., AND THEY ALL FOULED, SO OUR NEXT STEP WAS I.V.F. >> UNDER THE CARE OF THE DOCTOR, THAT INVITRO FERTILIZATION TOOK. >> THEY WERE GOING TO DO AN ULTRASOUND TO VERIFY IT AND EVERYTHING, AND WE GOT IN A CAR ACCIDENT HERE OUTSIDE THE HOSPITAL. >> THE COUPLE'S CAR WAS LEFT SMASHED. CHUCK HAD AND DO CUMMINGS, JACKIE'S INJURIES WERE MUCH WORSE. >> THEIR FIRST PROGNOSIS WAS LONG-TERM CARE. THAT MAKES ME THINK SHE WOULD BE PUT IN A NURSING HOME. >> JACKIE HAD A TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY, BUT MIRACULOUSLY THAT BABY HAD SURVIVED. >> TWO OR THREE DAYS AFTER THE ACCIDENT, THEY TOOK THAT ULTRASOUND. THE SECOND I SAW THAT ULTRASOUND I BURST INTO TEARS. >> JACKIE SPENT A MONTH IN CRITICAL CARE BEFORE BEING TRANSFERRED TO A REHABILITATION HOSPITAL. >> I DON'T REMEMBER ANYTHING AFTER THAT. WE WERE ON OUR WAY HERE. NEXT THING I KNEW IT WAS ABOUT A MONTH LAYER, AND THEY TOLD ME WHAT HAD HAPPENED AND THAT MY BABY WAS STILL OK. >> DR. OAKES WAS THERE EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. >> IT IS NOT REALLY STANDARD, BUT NOTHING ABOUT THE CASE WAS STANDARD AT THAT POINT. >> THAT IS WHERE A HIGH RISK ON IS HE TRANSITION ENTERED THE PICTURE. >> THE FACT THAT SHE HAD SUCH A THIS BABY AT EXTREMELY HIGH RISK. >> JACKIE CONTINUED HER RECOVERY, RE-LEARNING TO WALK AND SPEAK, AND HER BABY CONTINUED TO GROW. THEN, ON OCTOBER 9TH, 2019, A LITTLE CHLOE ENTERED THE WORLD. >> THEY BROUGHT HER OVER TO THE WEIGHING TABLE, AND THE FIR THING SHE DID WAS HELD MY FINGER. >> IT WAS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE. I HAVE WAITED FOR THIS FOR A LONG TIME. >> A LONG WAIT FOR THIS SMALL BUT MIGHTY MIRACLE. >> IT IS REALLY MIRACULOUS. THIS IS A MIRACLE BABY. >> THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL TO CELEBRATE THIS THANKSGIVING. >> SEDAN SEDAN, KETV NEWSWATCH 7. >> WELL, JACKIE INITIALLY HAD A HARD TIME REMEMBERING NAMES, INCLUDING HER HUSBAND'S. SHE HAS MADE GREAT PROGRESSING, BUT DOCTORS SAY HER SPEECH MAY NEVER FULLY RECOVER. JACKIE IS STI

For eight years, Jacki and Chuck Dostal tried desperately to grow their family, eventually ending up at Methodist Women's Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska."I met Jacki and Chuck a little over five years ago," said Dr. Meghan Oakes, a reproductive endocrinologist with the hospital. The couple tried a number of fertility treatments with no success."So our next step was IVF," said Chuck Dostal. Under the care of Dr. Oakes, the in vitro fertilization took, and the couple prepared for their first ultrasound when Jacki was about six weeks along.Feeling nervous and excited, they made the trip from their home in Dodge, Nebraska, to the Omaha metro. "They were going to do an ultrasound to verify it and everything, and we got in a car accident right here outside the hospital," Chuck said. Mere blocks from the hospital, the couple's car was left smashed. Chuck had a concussion. Jacki's injuries were much worse. "The first prognosis was long term care, so that makes me think she'd be put in a nursing home," Chuck said. Jacki had suffered a traumatic brain injury, but miraculously, their little baby had survived.Just days after the accident, as Jacki lay in critical care at Omaha's Bergan Mercy Hospital, Chuck got to see that first ultrasound. "The second I saw that ultrasound, I burst into tears," he said. Jacki spent a month at Bergan Mercy where doctors cut out part of her skull to reduce swelling in her brain. She was later transferred to a rehabilitation hospital. "I don't remember anything. Next thing I knew, it was about a month later," Jacki said of the time following the crash, "They told me what had happened, and that my baby was still okay."Dr. Oakes was there every step of the way, working with staff at Bergan Mercy to make sure Jacki got medication she needed due to the IVF. Dr. Oakes continued checking in at Madonna. "It's not really standard, but nothing about the case was standard at that point," Oakes said. It was following Jacki's transfer to Madonna that Dr. Emily Patel entered the picture. She served as Jacki's high-risk obstetrician through Methodist. "It is really miraculous. This is a miracle baby. The fact that she had such a traumatic accident so early on in the pregnancy put her and this baby at extremely high risk," Patel said. Jacki continued her recovery relearning to walk and speak, and her baby continued to grow.Then, on Oct. 9th, 2019, little Chloe entered the world. "Just the best day of my life. I have waited for this for a long time," Jacki said. It was a long wait for a small but mighty miracle; the greatest gift of all this Thanksgiving.

OMAHA, Neb. —

For eight years, Jacki and Chuck Dostal tried desperately to grow their family, eventually ending up at Methodist Women's Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska.

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"I met Jacki and Chuck a little over five years ago," said Dr. Meghan Oakes, a reproductive endocrinologist with the hospital.

The couple tried a number of fertility treatments with no success.

"So our next step was IVF," said Chuck Dostal.

Under the care of Dr. Oakes, the in vitro fertilization took, and the couple prepared for their first ultrasound when Jacki was about six weeks along.

Feeling nervous and excited, they made the trip from their home in Dodge, Nebraska, to the Omaha metro.

"They were going to do an ultrasound to verify it and everything, and we got in a car accident right here outside the hospital," Chuck said.

Mere blocks from the hospital, the couple's car was left smashed. Chuck had a concussion. Jacki's injuries were much worse.

"The first prognosis was long term care, so that makes me think she'd be put in a nursing home," Chuck said.

Jacki had suffered a traumatic brain injury, but miraculously, their little baby had survived.

Just days after the accident, as Jacki lay in critical care at Omaha's Bergan Mercy Hospital, Chuck got to see that first ultrasound.

"The second I saw that ultrasound, I burst into tears," he said.

Jacki spent a month at Bergan Mercy where doctors cut out part of her skull to reduce swelling in her brain. She was later transferred to a rehabilitation hospital.

"I don't remember anything. Next thing I knew, it was about a month later," Jacki said of the time following the crash, "They told me what had happened, and that my baby was still okay."

Dr. Oakes was there every step of the way, working with staff at Bergan Mercy to make sure Jacki got medication she needed due to the IVF. Dr. Oakes continued checking in at Madonna.

"It's not really standard, but nothing about the case was standard at that point," Oakes said.

It was following Jacki's transfer to Madonna that Dr. Emily Patel entered the picture. She served as Jacki's high-risk obstetrician through Methodist.

"It is really miraculous. This is a miracle baby. The fact that she had such a traumatic accident so early on in the pregnancy put her and this baby at extremely high risk," Patel said.

Jacki continued her recovery relearning to walk and speak, and her baby continued to grow.

Then, on Oct. 9th, 2019, little Chloe entered the world.

"Just the best day of my life. I have waited for this for a long time," Jacki said.

It was a long wait for a small but mighty miracle; the greatest gift of all this Thanksgiving.